Author Topic: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*  (Read 29855 times)

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #255 on: October 26, 2009, 11:10:49 AM »
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/truthhurts09


Dubcnn: Well, let me take you back to the Aftermath days. How did you get involved with Dr. Dre initially?

I started off as a songwriter. I worked my way into the Aftermath camp after one of Dre's right-hand men, Mike Lynn, brought me out to write for some of the groups. When I got there they had a person that they had kicked out of a group and they said "oh, she looks good, too. Let’s have her audition". So, I did the audition and the lead girl in the group at the time did not want me in the group, so I didn’t make the group. But, I stayed on as a songwriter and kept doing my thing. Then Dre was like, ‘you always sound better on these songs than these other people, so let’s see what we can do with you’. I would write the songs kind of for my style and would pass them on. He had Dawn from En Vogue, and Eve. I actually wrote the “Love Is Blind” hook for Eve. Writing was how we initially met, but then it developed into the artistry part of it.


Dubcnn: I'd like to talk to you about the lead single from your Aftermath solo project "Addictive". Can you just run back a little bit and tell me how that song came together with you working with Rakim and DJ Quik.

I go way back with Quik. He used to cook for my family back in the day. This is when I used to live in the Bay area. I don't know how much you know about his cooking skills, but he is a chef at heart, he is serious with it. I knew him from back then and he knew I was working with Dre. I got him and Dre in a room together and then the ideas started flowing. Dre was like, ‘you need to do some stuff with this’. Then on my birthday Quik hit me up and was like, ‘sis, I got something for you’. It was the track to Addictive. He was working at Encore over there in Burbank and I went to see him and he was like, ‘I can hear you on this’. I was stunned when I first heard it! I was like man I got to get this to Dre as soon as possible! When I did, he flipped his lid. He was like, ‘Yo, call Quik right now!’ I did, but Dre was in the hospital with his wife having a baby. He was in there with her, but tripping off the song at the same time. So we got Static, may he rest in peace, to come in and write it. Static is one of my favorite writers. He laced it and that was that.


.........


Dubcnn: How much work did Dre do for your Aftermath album? I had heard he produced more than what showed up on the album.

He put his all into that album. Yes, there were songs that he did that were sickening, they still get play with all of my family. We listen to them, but no one else. That is the problem with doing so many songs for an album though, is that you can’t put them all on there. Dre is such a perfectionist, that's what he does!


Dubcnn: Looking back, were you satisfied with the results of that album, as far as how and when it came out?

A lot of when it came out determined where I'm at now. There were so many things that didn't come to fruition because Dre is the type that he wants to keep all of his cookies in the studio. He doesn't want anyone to hear it until it’s done. Just for the information aspect of it, but that's not how Dre operates. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that's what it was. Nothing I could do about it.


......



Dubcnn: Well, let’s journey on a little past that. With your album "Ready Now", tell me a little bit about that album and Raphael Saadiq.

I met up with him from some people we both knew back in the bay. Dre was also interested in signing Raphael, so we had a knowledge of each other. He is ridiculous! I've always been a fan of his. I’ve wanted to work with him for a while. At the time that we got a meeting with him he was only doing independent work and I was on my anti-label kick, too, so we got together. The album was an independent project.

.......


Dubcnn: When you say you have never worked with Jay-Z, when you did the vocals for The Watcher 2, how did that go down?

It wasn't Jay-Z's song, it was Dre's song and he came in and was listening to some tracks and came across that one and said, ‘I want to do something with this, keep the vocals and remix it’. It was an honor, when Dre told me that I was stunned.

Dubcnn: Tell me about working with Eminem’s group D12 on the song "Nasty Mind".

That was one of those days when I dropped by the studio and Dre was working with them. He was like, ‘get in there and lay this down for me really quick’. There were a lot of projects that I went in there and dropped my part or whatever and was like alright I’ll see you all later.


Dubcnn: Did you work with Eminem on any projects?
Yes, I did. We did a couple things that did not actually end up on the album. Once again, that is how it works with Dre. I was flown out to work with Em at his house, which was another great experience. I can’t remember the song, but he may have been trying to do "The Watcher". I just remember that he didn't use what we did. I know that we worked on it a whole night. I went in and slammed the vocals and he said, ‘yo, you work fast!’. I’ve wanted to get on something that went out with him, but haven't yet. He told me himself that he doesn't do a lot of stuff with R & B on it that's just not his style, but I told him when he did to call me.


Dubcnn: Have you talked to any of them or heard anything about the "Detox" album?

I have not. I think I'm going to reach out to Dre. He has been talking about that album since before I left the label and I’d like to get down with him on that, it would be a nice reunion.




Read rest of the interview here;
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/truthhurts09/

 

The Predator

Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #256 on: November 01, 2009, 04:06:13 PM »
NWA starring in this old school EPMD video jam :

« Last Edit: November 01, 2009, 04:12:10 PM by The Predator »
 

Chad Vader

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Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #258 on: November 26, 2009, 06:15:08 PM »
When it comes to mainstream West Coast hip-hop in the last 5 or soyears, Game is the number one representative for the West Coast.
As part of Dubcnn I was privileged to sit in on a studio session with Game and Pharrell as they worked on Game's "RED Album",
scheduled to drop in February of 2010. Game also talked to us about his changed outlook, The Black Wall Street and label boss Jimmy Iovine.

Dubcnn Interview: Game (Video/Text)

Dubcnn:
The track are definitely hot.
Speaking of Dre.
When everyone saw that picture of you him and Snoop in the studio everyone got pretty excited.
How did you get hooked up back with Dre?

Game:
Dre called me, he had Brandon from Aftermath call me and was like,
“Yo Dre want you in the studio.”
And I always told Dre, “Whenever you need me holla and I’ll be there 30 minutes or less like Dominoes pizza.”
Brandon told me Dre wanted me to come down and help him write some songs for Detox.
I shot down there and we started gettin’ it in.
When I got there Snoop was there we chilled, we smoked a couple of blunts, and Dre was like,
“Yo, y’all wanna take a picture?”
Me and Snoop was like lookin’ at each other like, “We wit’ it.”
Took a picture, blasted it off my twitter page and that was that.

Dubcnn:
I think that picture’s gonna be classic when people look back on it.
It’s definitely a definition of the West Coast, especially now.
Speaking of West Coast projects, you were talking about doing a Diary of Compton, a DOC album.
Have you talked to the other guys about doing that?

Game:
I haven’t been privy to meet MC Ren, met King T, cool with him, Ice Cube is the big homie, Dr. Dre is a father figure or a big brother to me in hip-hop, me and Snoop ride or die for each other in music and in the street, that’s like my big brother and he hold me down.
To put it together it ain’t nothing, but it’s gonna take everyone, The Dogg Pound, Daz, Kurupt.
Everybody to come together and really help me perfect that album, I’m not gonna do it halfway.
I gotta have 100% of the definition of what Compton is to the artists involved and myself and what people see from the outside looking in.
I want to depict Compton is a way that’s so real that you’re from Compton if you’re not.
You feel like you’ve seen and you’ve been through what I’ve been through in my life.
That’s on hold and hopefully it can be my fifth album, which’ll be my last album on Interscope/Geffen.


Read the rest here;
Dubcnn Interview: Game (Video/Text)
 

2euce 7even

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #259 on: November 27, 2009, 12:50:46 AM »
When it comes to mainstream West Coast hip-hop in the last 5 or soyears, Game is the number one representative for the West Coast.
As part of Dubcnn I was privileged to sit in on a studio session with Game and Pharrell as they worked on Game's "RED Album",
scheduled to drop in February of 2010. Game also talked to us about his changed outlook, The Black Wall Street and label boss Jimmy Iovine.

Dubcnn Interview: Game (Video/Text)

Dubcnn:
The track are definitely hot.
Speaking of Dre.
When everyone saw that picture of you him and Snoop in the studio everyone got pretty excited.
How did you get hooked up back with Dre?

Game:
Dre called me, he had Brandon from Aftermath call me and was like,
“Yo Dre want you in the studio.”
And I always told Dre, “Whenever you need me holla and I’ll be there 30 minutes or less like Dominoes pizza.”
Brandon told me Dre wanted me to come down and help him write some songs for Detox.
I shot down there and we started gettin’ it in.
When I got there Snoop was there we chilled, we smoked a couple of blunts, and Dre was like,
“Yo, y’all wanna take a picture?”
Me and Snoop was like lookin’ at each other like, “We wit’ it.”
Took a picture, blasted it off my twitter page and that was that.

Dubcnn:
I think that picture’s gonna be classic when people look back on it.
It’s definitely a definition of the West Coast, especially now.
Speaking of West Coast projects, you were talking about doing a Diary of Compton, a DOC album.
Have you talked to the other guys about doing that?

Game:
I haven’t been privy to meet MC Ren, met King T, cool with him, Ice Cube is the big homie, Dr. Dre is a father figure or a big brother to me in hip-hop, me and Snoop ride or die for each other in music and in the street, that’s like my big brother and he hold me down.
To put it together it ain’t nothing, but it’s gonna take everyone, The Dogg Pound, Daz, Kurupt.
Everybody to come together and really help me perfect that album, I’m not gonna do it halfway.
I gotta have 100% of the definition of what Compton is to the artists involved and myself and what people see from the outside looking in.
I want to depict Compton is a way that’s so real that you’re from Compton if you’re not.
You feel like you’ve seen and you’ve been through what I’ve been through in my life.
That’s on hold and hopefully it can be my fifth album, which’ll be my last album on Interscope/Geffen.


Read the rest here;
Dubcnn Interview: Game (Video/Text)

chad, keep doin ya thang !!
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #260 on: December 12, 2009, 10:16:48 AM »
Quote
JJ FAD Returns After 20 Yrs Gets Nod From Dr Dre
http://hiphopspy.com/jj-fad-returns-after-20-yrs-gets-nod-from-dr-dre/
After a twenty year hiatus, the girls of JJ Fad return to the mic, this time with Uncle Louie Music Group (ULMG).
With Ruthless Records in their rearview mirror,
their studio session at Command Recording in Valencia California marks a historic moment for hip-hop and the trio whose accomplishments in the hip-hop arena have been momentous.
JJ Fad, the first female rap group to go platinum and the first female rap group to be nominated for a Grammy,
had their first studio session since the Reagan Administration; the session took place this afternoon,
and under the guidance of producer J-Love and with Songwiter and Recording Artist Booker Moon,
both key players on the Uncle Louie Music Group roster.
At the studio, Dr. Dre told reporters: “I’m glad the girls are back to doing what they do best and I wish them the best.
We’re looking forward to working with J-Love on this project.
Eminem and 50 are going to bring some new school fire for these old school ladies.”
While video rolled and photographers snapped away, MC JB, Sassy C, and Baby D rehearsed their world famous Supersonic jam to the applause of in studio visitors and press.
Their Supersonic re-release is slated for February 17th 2009; their studio session was for a dual purpose:
Tuning up for their upcoming old school revival tour with the Fat Boys and recording their new album.
The album is tentatively set for release in Spring 2009 and will be released through the Uncle Louie Music Group Label .
The JJ Fad girls also recorded a series of Supersonic Ringtones and Callback Tunes set to be released this month through a ULMG brokered deal coordinated by San Francisco based Abe Batshon, with distribution through AT&T Wireless, Verizon and various other mobile carriers. MC JB told the press:
“We sat down with Source Magazine this week and had a great time.
We discussed our hiatory with Ruthless Records and talked about how we hooked up with Dr. Dre and Eazy-E and our future with Uncle Louie Music Group.
Overall we just love making music and we’re really excited to be back in LA making music again.
J-Love is a true professional an working with Booker Moon was a pleasure.
Come this Spring you will be nodding your head to JJ Fad again, we haven’t missed a beat!”




Bonus;

JJ Fad; Going Down (feat. Ice Cube) (produced by Dr.Dre,Cube & Yella)
Dissing Roxane Shante

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-XVKshdCCHk&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/-XVKshdCCHk&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1</a>
 

teletomble

Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #261 on: December 12, 2009, 10:20:02 AM »
^ U Got A Download For That?
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #262 on: December 12, 2009, 10:34:40 AM »
^ U Got A Download For That?


nope.... but it appears on;
Various Artists - Fat Beats & Bra Straps: Battle Rhymes & Posse (CD)


you know what to do if you find it  ;)
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #263 on: December 19, 2009, 11:29:42 AM »
New Cold187um interview on AllHiphop.com
Above The Law's Cold 187um: From Ruthless to Redemption
http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2009/12/19/22071574.aspx
By Jay Williams of BeatDynasty.com

In the late 80s and early 90s, Ruthless Records was a premier label for Hip-Hop, especially on the West Coast. With the emergence of Eazy-E, and N.W.A., the label produced the rawest form of Hip-Hop ever presented at that time.

Instrumental in that movement was Above The Law, on of the groups on the iconic label. Consisting of Cold 187um, K.M.G., Go Mack, and Total K-Oss, the group was a self-contained unit of lyrics, production, and DJ'ing. Cold 187um was one lyricist as well as the main producer behind the group's funk-laced sound. Even though  Dr. Dre received most of the production credit for their first LP, Livin' Like Hustlers, 187 says the group laid the foundation to what has become a string of Platinum, and Gold status albums.

Although Cold 187um reached a level in the industry that most of us only dream about, he was convicted in 2004 of conspiring to traffic 100 pounds of marijuana and served 105 weeks in a federal institution.

The time spent in prison did not sour 187's view on the world of music he flourished in. He does however have a story to tell from his perspective. Now, the South Central don has a fresh start on life, and new insight on the trends in music. Cold 187um took time out to discuss his views on the current state of Hip-Hop as well as his views on the legendary Dr. Dre.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel like the that artistry has disappeared from rap while you were in jail?

Cold 187um: One thing that's missing in Hip-Hop is people putting themselves out there. Everybody bases it on the statistics or the masses, or the latest instead of saying, "This is how I feel about it." I think as an artist, I can paint the picture and still entertain. Everybody can't do that. It's because of what I've been through in my life, being a hustler, and getting into the music industry, falling, and getting back up that I have something to say. Also being a veteran as well. I have a lot to say from my point of view because I saw a lot.

AllHipHop.com: Where do you think that disconnect came with old and new school?

Cold 187um: What happens with a lot of G-cats is that they'll say, "Young people don't have nothing to say." They do, but they just don't know how to do it because they're young. Instead of them looking at us and embracing us, we have to start talking to each other in order to be a bigger and better industry. For me, I try to talk to people instead of at people. I'm not a teacher, I'm not a preacher, I'm a hustler, and I've been through some stuff from a real side of life. I want to tell people something that will help them. I think it's very important to put yourself on the record, as yourself, if you've been through something. If you're a fake mother f***er that's looking outside the s**t, you shouldn't talk about it.

AllHipHop.com: So what in your opinion is the major problem in Hip-Hop?

Cold 187um: Some of it to me is surface level. A lot of it is about the tennis shoes, the chain, the car, the b***h with the big booty. A lot of it has a little substance, but it started becoming just about that. It didn't have a balance. Hip-Hop has always been about bling, girls, and shining. It's just that in the beginning, you had diversity. You had people talking about bling, other people talking about political s**t, certain people talking gangster s**t, and a certain amount talking the abstract s**t. The beautiful part of Hip-Hop is that we're the only form of music that can have one form and have all these types of styles in it. It doesn't turn into something else. That was the beautiful part about the industry that was built. When I looked at what cats were doing, I found the problem. It's not it's bad, it's just that only one aspect. It's not like in the 80s you could go from De La Soul to N.W.A.

AllHipHop.com: Livin' Like Hustlers was easily one of the best, well put together, albums on Ruthless Records. That album took you through a journey.

Cold 187um: We were one of the first groups that got banned talking from a real perspective. We were the ones who got banned for saying some real s**t to youngsters.

AllHipHop.com: Switching gears to the production, many don't know that you were instrumental in the production of that album. Even though Dr. Dre is listed as the producer, what was your contribution?

Cold 187um: I brought Livin' Like Hustlers to Ruthless Records done. The whole blueprint to Livin' Like Hustlers was done. I had 75 percent of that record done. All me and Dre did was reproduced it because it was done on eight and sixteen track on the demo. We went and took every sample that I used, every groove that I used, and re-cut everything. To me, Dre was more of an engineer on that aspect of the album. Now there were songs that we produced together were like "Freedom of Speech," "The Last Song," "Kickin' Lyrics," and I think "Another Execution." Everything else was done. I learned a lot about making Hip-Hop records from Dre. The thing about it was people don't know that because I allowed myself to learn at that level. The theory, the production, the creation; I was just as much a part of it as Dre was. Dre didn't hold my hand. Above The Law's concept and the things we rapped about was already done.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that hurt you in hindsight to allow Dre to take the credit for it?

Cold 187um: Definitely. It's a bittersweet thing. It's just like saying if you become and understudy or and intern for somebody and it blows up. Then that person wins from it, but you're in the game now. So yeah it hurt me, but it helped me a lot. It enabled me to have the great knowledge that I have now about making records. It was free, I didn't have to go to college for it. I'm Dr. Dre's understudy, but I don't get the credit. People don't know that when It comes to doing all [the production] I'm sharp as he is. I was taught by him, how to make records.

AllHipHop.com: You coined yourself "The originator of the G-Funk style" and you guys were doing that type of production right after Dre left Ruthless.

Cold 187um: You gotta realize that Black Mafia Life was cut before The Chronic. Black Mafia Life was cut when N***az For Life (Efil4zaggin)was cut. There's no conception of The Chronic during this era. The thing that happened was we were in a transition leaving Sony to go to Warner Brothers. The Chronic came out [in stores] before Black Mafia Life. But it was done, when N***az for Life was wrapped. When you run them next to each other, The Chronic is more of Hip-Hop funky album. Black Mafia Life is a funk album. It's a straight gooney, ill, dark, grim, parliament meets Isaac Hayes meets Willie Hutch meets the Isley Brothers meets Above The Law.

AllHipHop.com: So what does that say about Dre and his claim on the G-Funk style?

Cold 187um: Dre did take, and was influenced by the things that I was doing at Ruthless Records. I don't care what nobody says. Even he would tell you. That's why he took me under his wing. It was taken from me, used, and it was ran with. I benefited none from it. I ended up being the guy in the middle of the room trying to convince everybody that I'm the guy that put it into place.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of producers were saying that Dre does take talented producer's ideas at times.

Cold 187um: The whole thing about it is that I'm a real musician. To me it is about giving. I didn't have a problem with him trying things that I did or any of that. Here's my problem. When you don't get on TV and say " I was influenced by this person or that person." I don't like when you don't pay homage to the guys that you get it from. That's what I don't like. I love Dre. I don't have no problems with Dre. He's talented, he's not wack, he's not a sucker or any of that s**t. My whole point is give me mines homey. I respect what you do, and what you did for me. Dre helped me dog. I don't like what he does as far as West Coast Hip-Hop is concerned. I don't like how he turned his cheek and went the other way. But, I can't say nothing about him as a producer and what he's able to do.

AllHipHop.com: So, you feel Dre turned his back on the West?

Cold 187um: I know where we all come from so I can say that. You're not [helping people out] so to me you're not doing enough. That doesn't make you wack or nothing, that's just the decision and the position that you want to play in the game you're in. Cool! It makes you more so look like you're a person that will leave the ghetto but when the ghetto needs help, you won't go build a community center for the kids. It's not the time for us to be like that.

AllHipHop.com: What's your impression of West Coast Hip-Hop now?

Cold 187um: I think the West Coast Hip-Hop is suffering because we don't have a support system. The saddest thing I realized when I got home was the "West Side Wednesday" on a West Side radio station. When I was down South they played Southern music all day, and then had like a West Coast hour. I respect that. I come home and I should hear West Coast all day. That's how it should be. I think because of that, a lot of us aren't inspired to do us anymore. A lot of us end up wondering and second guessing ourselves. We end up acting like something that we're not. Game is great and Snoop is phenomenal. I hear people disrespect artists where we come from for no reason.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, when I was coming up, we loved West Coast Hip-Hop. We would learn about L.A. life without actually having to go there.

Cold 187um: That's the beauty of Hip-Hop. How you gonna tell me to switch it up when all the other places are being like themselves? Hip-Hop is about moving people in other places but how you do it where you're from. It's about being relevant everywhere else, but you're doing it how you do it. It's no fun if you come to L.A. and hang out with me and hear the same thing you've been hearing in New York.

AllHipHop.com: How influential was Eazy-E's death to the decline of the West Coast?

Cold 187um: You gotta realize, Eazy had a real love for the music. But he wasn't a music person, he was a business man. You can tell a person like Dre loves the money, because he'll jump on whatever is happening. Eazy found groups like Above The Law, Bone Thugs N Harmony, a few of the Black Eyed Peas. He signed a lot of people based on how he felt about what they were doing. When you lose that, hell yeah, it was a nose dive. Death Row was at it's point going down. When Dre moved on and did Aftermath, he really didn't have any concern. There's a reason why East Coast rap still has an industry. When Russell Simmons was at that breaking point, Puffy emerged, then Rocafella came, then Murder Inc. A lot of those guys cared about East Coast music. [The West Coast] had two conglomerates. One dismantled [Ruthless Records] and one got taken over by somebody's wife [Eazy-E's wife] and it was never seen again.


AllHipHop.com: Yeah but that was when they had ownership over the music right?

Cold 187um: The thing when you talk about the West Coast is that we don't have that pride no more. I do, but us as an industry don't. When Rap-A-Lot was at it's height, a lot of other labels came out of the South through the emergence of them. Nobody out here on the West Coast protected the legacy of a Eazy-E, Ice-T, N.W.A. There's a few of us who try to preserve it. I'm not going to sugar coat it for the West. It's like when anything gets bad everybody goes for themselves. You can't give your record to a DJ out here and him just support it because you're from the West. You got to have Akon, T-Pain, or these type artists on it in order for them to say it means something. But guess what, they ain't from Compton, Long Beach, or Los Angeles.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think the West coast music is coming back around though?

Cold 187um: Life is full circle. Other people will come back and bring that real along. There has to be a cause and effect. It has to be put out there with truth in it. Some people have to get real about what they stand for.

AllHipHop.com: When you say truth in it, do you think that's lost in the music?

Cold 187um: As Hip-Hop artists are we just allowing people to believe our bulls**t? I'm a ex-con. I'm not proud of it. Those were the worst times of my f***ing life. I don't get up there and brag about being a tough guy, when all I did was hurt everyday and miss my family. I was a angry motherf***er everyday. That's not fly. But understand one thing; if your Mom is on crack, the block is one solution, it's not the solution.


 People get on TV and advertise about the block and how tough they are and ain't never did a day in the streets. Stop lyin' and tell then your raps are just like Scarface the movie. Tell em' you're talking about somebody else's life. Drug dealing ain't fly. I've been in fights, shoot outs, and been indicted. Shining was good. I liked throwing five or ten stacks on the table for some nice hot jewels. But, sitting in that box for it, I hated it. That's a part of it. So if you're looking to get into it because the rapper is doing it, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. We need to always be real. But we also have a duty to stand up and tell why conditions are like that.
 

Chad Vader

  • Guest
Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #264 on: December 27, 2009, 05:18:20 PM »
Some old Chris "The Glove" Taylor joints;

Quote

Chris "The Glove" Taylor was one of the DJ pioneers on the West Coast[1].
Ice T first appearances on wax were on his records "Reckless" (from "Breakin'") and "Tibetan Jam" both in 1983[2]

He was later signed to Electrobeat Records.
During this period, he was also in a crew called the The Radio Crew before he became a solo artist.
The Radio Crew consisted of Ice T, Super AJ, and The Egyptian Lover. They put out one EP for the documentary "Breaking And Entering".

His most famous record is "The Itchiban Scratch" in 1985 which is an instrumental that samples young children singing
"The Grand of Duke Of York" around a Japanese style theme.

He also made a records with Victor Flores who currently is chief engineer at ATM Studios,
called "Breakmixer 1 + 2" and appeared on the famous Motown hip hop record "Scratch Break" by the Motor City crew.

More recent credits are on
Dr Dre's albums The Chronic and Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath on which he received mixing credits and on The Firm's album as a producer.

Chris 'The Glove' Taylor - Itchiban Scratch
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/yiZ_98PbSM0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/yiZ_98PbSM0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1</a>

Chris The Glove Taylor & Dave Storrs- Tibetan Jam (Instrumental)
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mm2SQWPuUZc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/mm2SQWPuUZc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1</a>

 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #265 on: January 07, 2010, 06:02:51 PM »
Raptalk Exclusive: DJ Silk & Chocolate: Detox & More
http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=241335.msg2434958#msg2434958

Raptalk.Net: We have Chocolate and DJ Silk right here, two legendary producers. They are collectively known as The Ginuwin Draftz. Tell us about the “Ginuwin Draftz” name the two of you have come up with.

 

DJ Silk: The Ginuwin Draftz stands for actually being original. We’re back at it. That’s how I look at it.

 

Raptalk.Net: Ok.  Let’s start off with you Chocolate; let’s read off the resume in case there sleeping. You’ve produced for Snoop Dogg, Vanilla Ice, Spice 1, Big Mike, 3-2, Jayo Felony, RBX, Knoc-turn’al, 40 Glocc, Kurupt, Kokane and so many more. Do you have a favorite track that you’ve produced in your career?

 

Chocolate: My history is pretty far but I’ve never had a favorite track that I liked more than others. There are a couple of tunes that have hit me in the heart but really hard to pick just one; I can’t even say. Everything has been kind of pleasant to me. I can’t really say that. I can say that everything has been cool. I’ve had joints that went unreleased that I really liked. It’s kind of hard to say. I haven’t really thought about that. I’ve had groups that I produced that had hot records that had deals and their records never came out that were great records.

 

Raptalk.Net: Tell us about some of those then.

 

Chocolate: I had a group that Sway who is on MTV now, had a record out called “This or That” with DJ Revolution. I had a group named Dirty Unit and he actually discovered them. Somebody brought them to me and I liked them and got them a deal. We did an album that was great and being young artists, I kind of got removed out of the deal after the deal got done. They were no longer with my company and had to go to the majors in order for the deal to go. With them dudes being in a position that they needed bread and some of their girls were pregnant, you know how that goes. I had to let them do what they do and move out the way. When I moved out of the way, all there business went bad and the record never came out. But that was a great record with Dirty Unit and they were out of Pasadena. I had another group called Level 6 that I had signed to Jive Records. They had a single called “Who be the Dopest” that started taking off and that was a great record. The album was called “Universally Yours” and it was Peter Parker and Sweets.  We did a great record and that record never came out. There have been a lot of records that I’ve done that never came out that I thought were great records.

 

Raptalk.Net: Silk, you’ve produced for E-40, Jayo Felony and so many more. Do you have a favorite track that you’ve produced in your career?

 

DJ Silk: It’s kind of hard. I would say “Hotter than Fish Grease” for Jayo Felony. That’s probably my favorite. It was about the time that I did it. I was just happy to have a second hit after the first one. To do it again felt great. I was happy to be all over America and hear something else other than the first one. It showed me it wasn’t a fluke because I thought it was a fluke at first.

 

Raptalk.Net: How do you look back on the work you did on “What’Cha Gonna Do” for Jayo Felony?

 

DJ Silk: I look back at it now like it was the past but that’s why I’m here and what I’m doing right now. It was the right stepping stone that I had to take. I respect Def Jam for doing what they did to put me in those ears, and helping me out a lot with publicizing the record because that’s not the first record I ever did. I did records way before that. “What’Cha Gonna Do” was my first hit though.

 

Raptalk.Net: Speaking of you doing records way before that, do you think “Flamboastin” for E-40 could have done more?

 

DJ Silk: It could have probably been a second single or something. The first single was “Behind the Gates” with Ice Cube but at that time Baby from Cash Money was very popular; I think they should have gone with that. That should have put more motion into actually making that a second single. I think it would have helped the record out a whole lot. I was happy enough to do a song with them at that time.

 

Raptalk.Net: How did you get your start in producing?

 

Chocolate: Oh man. I had influences. Being around The D.O.C., he actually influenced me to really move on it. He told me I could eat from this. He was only 15 years old when he showed me the right equipment to get. He had already been around the scene. I was kind of fresh still. I would always buy the stuff that people who didn’t know about music would tell me to get. I would buy wrong equipment. D.O.C. would tell me nah, you need this, the P-12, not this P-12 but you need this other P-12. Now this is way before the sp12000 came out. He showed me the right equipment to get and all that stuff back in the day. From there, it went from me being mainly in the rapping until I got bored with it. That’s when I jumped into making music because at that time it was kind of hard to get beats from people. I had to go over records and put instrumentals over a cassette player and rap over that. It just went from that to making music. I was like damn; I’ll make my own beats. I started by doing it like that.

 

DJ Silk: That’s a long story. I’ve been producing since about 1986, literally. I started when I was in the 8th grade. I was also a DJ at that time. When I got my first 1200, I was in the 7th or 8th grade and it only had one turn table and I had wait until my birthday or Christmas to get another one (laughs). And I was the DJ at parties all of the time. I worked at a night club in high school. Unlike the kids that that do what they have to do today, my parents trusted me enough to go to night clubs at 10:30pm and coming back at 3:00am on school nights. I’m a product of that.

 

Raptalk.Net: So would you attest your success to the fact that your parents trusted you and allowed you to do that?

 

DJ Silk: Oh yeah, a lot. I learned stuff in those early years from being able to be around people that I wasn’t probably supposed to be around in my age group. Chocolate used to have me in the 21 and over clubs around super stars. I heard “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” when I was about 18 or 19 and when they got done doing “Nuthin’ but a G Thang”, they gave a copy to Chocolate and I heard it before it even hit. I saw The D.O.C. with the first Death Row jacket. I was blessed to see a lot of artists at that time in their prime. I got the advice from them. I saw CPO Boss Hogg from the “All Eyez On Me” album, B-O-X, D.O.C., Chocolate, Above the Law, Kokane – all of them, I listened to them when I was younger and got to see most of the Ruthless and early Death Row camp – those are the people I got to see. And then I did Lil’ Half-Dead’s first album and that was my breakthrough as far as doing a record on a major. That helped me a lot. Just being exposed to a lot of stuff I wasn’t supposed to be helped. Plus Chocolate showed me cheques to what you can make in this game. I didn’t know what you could make as far as money in this game. I had a better idea of what they had because for them to actually do that and earn that, to be able to show me that, I saw them making a lot of money and living a good life style out of what you actually like doing. I got lucky.

 

Raptalk.Net: Chocolate, what made you want to stop rapping and stick to the beats?

 

Chocolate: My influences. It’s kind of hard because I go back to when my favorite producers; I used to read the labels in the back of albums, all the credits. Rap records back then was like, DJ Howie T was one of my favorites that I would always look on the back of hot records when it would be a hot record; I would always look for his signature to see if he did the particular joint. There were a couple of guys who influenced me to get where I wanted to go. It got to the point where the rap part just faded with me. I got bored with the rap part. I think I was good at it, but I wasn’t great at it. It makes a difference where you have to draw the line and divide the two. I went with my music side which I think I’m better at.

 

 

Raptalk.Net: Silk, how did you meet Chocolate and was there instant chemistry on the production side?

 

DJ Silk: Oh yeah. I met Chocolate when I was about 15. He introduced me to a lot of the stuff in the game. He gave me my first equipment which was a sp1200 that came from Dr. Dre at that time. That’s what [Dr.] Dre did the first few NWA albums on. It was kind of a hand me down product.  It blew and I couldn’t afford to get it fixed in those years. Fixing a sampler of a sp1200 at that time was like $2,700 to actually repair it. I was about 17 years old and didn’t have that kind of money to spend at the shop. It helped me get the records that I did do in those years; I wish I still had it.

 

Raptalk.Net: Is it tough to share production with Chocolate? Did you ever argue about the direction of the beat or music?

 

DJ Silk: Nah, because me and Chocolate think the same. We don’t really argue about anything. Argue about production? Nah. If he feels a beat should go a certain way, then he will do it that way; and then I’ll go with it the way I see it. Will then listen to both of them and see which one is the right one.

 

Raptalk.Net: Chocolate, with you bringing up The D.O.C., it’s clear you guys came up together and influenced each other. Do yourself and The D.O.C. ever just kick back and reminisce on the life you’ve created for yourselves, and the opportunities that became available?

 

Chocolate: Oh yeah. We laugh at it. Actually, when he was with Eazy [E} back in the day, I was actually living with The D.O.C. when he had his house on the gore. I was around but I was quiet. I would just sit at the pad and make music then. I don’t know how to put it, but we were together every day. Every day that you saw The D.O.C., you saw me. Now when we see each other it’s kind of funny because we’ve gone so far from where we started at. We never thought it would get this far, you know what I mean?

 

Raptalk.Net: Of course.

 

Chocolate: We’re twenty-something years in now together. My hit song, my first hit song which I did, I was still living with The D.O.C. and he was taking care of me when my hit song hit, which was “Ice Ice Baby.” The change just happened over night. I don’t know, it’s like God put wings over the both of us and his career took off and not even a good year and I was right behind him with a hit song that I had did for Vanilla Ice. We just got blessed around the same time. I was around from the beginning of everything that he had started from when his name was The Channel 21 Kid all the way up until he became The D.O.C. now. I was one of the first ones to see what his first album cover looked like. I was standing with him when his FedEx came into Texas and he opened it up, we both looked at the cover together. He didn’t even know what the cover looked like before me. We go that far back. It’s crazy that we sit back now and look at it.

 

It’s like that with Slim [Tha Mobster]. With Slim being my nephew, Slim has known The D.O.C. since he was like seven years old. It’s crazy to him now to see that that’s the little kid that used to sit up under us when we used to try and write songs back in the early to mid 80s. We look at Slim -I don’t know, have you ever heard Slim?

 

Raptalk.Net: Yeah I have.

 

Chocolate: Ok so, that says a lot. D.O.C. was a huge influence to him. We look at it now and its years later but God has just been good to us. There is no other way to look at that. We’ve been truly blessed to be doing what we’ve been doing. We reminisce now to where we laugh at it and we’re like wow, this shit is crazy. Twenty years into the game is a long time. And to continue making records in the position we’re in now, you can’t think of anybody else to work with better than a Dr. Dre (laughs). It’s crazy. The excitement of all of it is surreal.  But it is what it is. We’re here now at the studio working. We gotta’ do what we gotta’ do to try and make things a lot better for us all.

 

Raptalk.Net: You just touched on a few of my talking points that we’re certainly going to get into a bit later. First off, being so close to the D.O.C. with growing up with him and everything, what was initial reaction like when you had received word of the accident?

 

Chocolate: A buddy of mine who is Rodney G. called me and he was like man, you’re not even gonna’ believe this. I was like what happened? And he said D.O.C. was in a car accident. At that time, it almost took every breathe out of me because he was at the top of his game. He was about to be the biggest rapper in the world at that time. When it hit me, it hit me hard. It wasn’t like it took a few seconds or anything; it really hit me hard then. I was living out of state and he was in California. I came back here after the accident to come and see him. My brother who was in Northern California was here, when he got the news he drove immediately down. It was crazy because it didn’t seem like it had happened. It was like I started dreaming this on my way to California like there was no way this could happen to this man, that he would have a car accident. With him losing his voice was what the weirdest thing was really. I’ve seen him go through a lot of therapy to get him together and he worked hard to try to get himself right. I was living with him that whole entire time that he was really trying to get himself together. If anybody could give his voice back and restore it, that brother deserves it. Wow, that’s crazy. When MTV did “Tragedy of a Lyricist”, they did a whole hour segment that was just me and him that whole hour with Fab Five Freddy. Trust me, that’s like my brother.

 

DJ Silk: I was hurt. I was a little kid running around so I wasn’t there literally. I was hurt when it came to it. I was DJ’ing at a party in the I.E. area; I think it was a Cal State-San Bernardino party. I was the DJ there and I was one of the first ones to play The D.O.C.’s record out here. I introduced that record to a lot of people that didn’t know out here. That’s when DJ’s could actually control what was going on, which is something DJ’s don’t do anymore. It hurt us as far as the whole culture. It hurt just like the day I found out Scott La Rock died; put it that way. He died when I was in the 8th grade. It hurt that bad to have a west coast artist…you know he’s from Texas, but to have a west coast representative artist lose his voice? That was like losing a [Los Angeles] Lakers championship game, losing a true champ. And not really losing it because D.O.C. has written a lot of good stuff; we just lost the presence of his voice.

 

Raptalk.Net: What do you think of the process he’s going through now to try and regain his original voice back twenty years later?

 

Chocolate: (Laughs) you know that’s crazy, my mom had told me he went over and had dinner with her about a month ago. He was telling her that he was about to go and have surgery. I’m hoping that could happen. If that could happen, I think the west coast would really change. D.O.C. right to this day is one of the best lyricists in my book.

 

Raptalk.Net: Hell yeah.

 

Chocolate: That’s my opinion. If you listen to “No One Can Do It Better” right now, that came out in 1989 and that record sounds like he just recorded it in 2009. That’s how ahead of his time he was. Listen to that record. Take time one day and listen to that record.

 

Raptalk.Net: Oh I do.

 

Chocolate: Find me one flaw in it. Does he sound ahead of his time?

 

Raptalk.Net: Yeah. It’s a classic, no doubt.

 

Chocolate: (Laughs) you know what I mean? It’s an undated record. That record is crazy.

 

Raptalk.Net: That’s when you know an album is a classic – when you can play it twenty years later and it’s still just as good as it was when it came out. I wasn’t even born when it came out.

 

 Chocolate: Really? How old are you man?

 

Raptalk.Net: I’m 19.

 

Chocolate: Ok, that’s a blessing. You really get into your hip-hop thing then.

 

Raptalk.Net: Oh yeah.

 

Chocolate: Ok, that’s good. I see that you do pretty good research.

 

Raptalk.Net: I appreciate that.

 

Chocolate: That’s part of it what you do. When you do an interview, it’s good for you to ask questions and investigate.

 

Raptalk.Net: I always do.

 

Chocolate: You know what I mean? You’re on point. I’m just letting you know that is cool. Sometimes people ask questions that have been addressed too many times. People don’t go research and investigate, check it out. They still stick with the old stuff. I’m with that. Let’s do it, what you talking about?

 

Raptalk.Net: Let’s get into “Ice Ice Baby.” I know this is one of those situations that you’ve been asked about and you’ve cleared it up, but there still seems to be some wrong information floating around. It claims that you had come out at the time and claimed you wrote it without getting credit. Tell us about that.

 

Chocolate: It wasn’t that I didn’t get credit for it. See, that’s what I said people didn’t really do research to find out what happened. What happened with that was I did “Ice Ice Baby” and that song surfaced 2 ½ years after it was done. I made a phone call to Suge [Knight] because he was my manager at the time. He makes a phone to call to his attorneys and the attorneys make a call to Vanilla Ice’s people and we get the paperwork straight. We had no argument over “Ice Ice Baby” and that’s what people didn’t know. The whole argument came when it came time for me to do the “To the Extreme” album. What happened was that I got paid to do four songs for that record. I went up and flew from L.A. to Dallas and worked on four songs but ended up doing nine for him. But I was only under contract to do four. When the record got released, he put those other five songs on the album and didn’t credit me. So I went and sued for “Dancin”, “Go Ill”, “It’s a Party”, “Life’s a Fantasy”, all those songs. I sued for them. That’s what the whole argument was about. People thought the argument was about “Ice Ice Baby” and that was never the case. I got all my credits for that. I never had an argument for “Ice Ice Baby.” It was about the other songs I did for the record that he put on the record and put written and produced by Vanilla Ice. We never had a problem over “Ice Ice Baby.” That’s why I said a lot of people don’t do research. That’s straight out the horse’s mouth partner.

 

Raptalk.Net: I feel you. You lived with The D.O.C. and everything, so what were the days like around Jerry Heller?

 

Chocolate: I didn’t spend time around Jerry [Heller] until after I had moved out with D.O.C. and got my own place. This is after “Ice Ice Baby” blew up and I finally got paid and got money and I ended up getting me a home and moved out of the D.O.C.’s place. I didn’t deal with Jerry [Heller] until I was producing for Eazy-E over at Ruthless. That’s when I had to deal with Jerry. It was all strictly business and I never ever dealt with Jerry on any personal shit. It was all about the artists I was working with over at Ruthless. That was that. I never had a problem with Jerry. He never did…well; I can’t say he never did some shit. He only did one thing to me that I thought was pretty shitty. He booked me into the studio with two different artists. He had told me to lie to the other group on some bullshit. He wanted me to be prepared for a lie that I couldn’t tell to the artists I was dealing with. He tried to book me into the sessions and didn’t pay for one and had one of the groups sitting there waiting on me and they think I’m supposed to be there. I’m over at another studio doing work that I’m being paid for. And they end up getting mad at me thinking I left them hanging, but in actuality, Jerry never paid for that studio time. So, he put me in one bad position only. That’s the truth. Other than that, I never dealt with Jerry. I dealt with Eazy [E] during that whole time.

 

Raptalk.Net: And what was it like dealing with Eazy?

 

Chocolate: Cool. I never had a problem with him. He paid me on time. People used to say crazy shit. I was like wow, that’s crazy because he always sent me straight to the attorney’s office and I picked up my cheque then and there. Right away I would walk over into Century City, go cash my cheque and go about my business. I never ever had a problem with him. We used to hang out but not really on a regular basis because I hung out with MC Ren back then more than any of them. I and [MC] Ren hung out a lot. We were cool.

 

Raptalk.Net: Do you still speak to Ren?

 

Chocolate: I haven’t talked to Ren in years. Ren had an artist which was CPO. CPO and I are very tight. CPO is my son’s Godfather. Me and the Boss Hogg stay in contact and still hang out to this very day. I haven’t talked to Ren in probably ten years.

 

Raptalk.Net: Wow.

 

Chocolate: I haven’t seen him either. I’m out and around.

 

Raptalk.Net: He came out with a new record.

 

Chocolate: That’s good and I would love to talk to Ren. That’s my boy. I would love to speak with him. That would be cool because that’s my boy.

 

Raptalk.Net: You said Suge was your manager. Was he really as bad as everyone portrays him as? There is no denying the Death Row dynasty but I think people try and look at the alleged negative things he did and they try to make that overlook what he built with Death Row. What was it like overall?

 

Chocolate: To me, the best way I could put it is that somebody could point the finger at a man and say “don’t trust that dude because that dude is fucked up, fuck him, don’t trust him because he’ll do this and that.” But if your relationship is entirely different with that person, then you can’t speak on it. If that person has never done any wrong to you, then you have nothing bad to say about that person. My situation isn’t to stand up and say he was fucked up or that he was cool. I just know that the business that I needed handled and getting my money, any situation that I had as far as being a producer or artist, he took care of my business and I never had a problem with him. He got his money and I got my money. When I wanted my release, I got my release without an argument and I continued my life. I never had a problem with him. I never had any threats, slaps or none of that shit. Never ever. It was business and I kept it moving. I started my own company back then and we had respect for what I wanted to go out there and do. He never gave me a problem. He did what he did but he never did that shit around me. You know what I’m saying? You can’t speak on shit you never witnessed.

 

Raptalk.Net: Being around the entire situation while making “The Chronic”, for you yourself personally, did you realize it was going to be such a classic record?

 

Chocolate: Oh yeah. He had the whole all-star squad. Everybody was young and hungry. You had the best producer and the best writer in the world. Come on now. From “Deep Cover”, I knew it was history. I remember back when Snoop [Dogg] used to kick his feet up against the wall and used to free style for hours in the backyard of Dre’s house. We would sit there and listen to him. I used to tell him “boy if you ever get heard the world is gonna’ love you” and there he is now. Time goes by and we reminisce about it now and go wow, this is crazy.  You look at in reality how everybody is actually a tree branch of a person that’s done something. It’s what it is.

 

Raptalk.Net: Did you see the fall of Death Row coming or did you think they’d continue to dominate?

 

Chocolate: Through all of the media, you know how that goes. A party is never gonna’ last forever. I knew one day that the party would be over if you know what I’m saying.  In other words, it’s all about the people who stay there with you and help you clean up the party. If you throw a big party and everyone is there to help you plan it, once it’s over with, only your true ones are gonna’ stay and help you clean up. Everyone that had helped you plan done left and got a bitch and walked out the front door and said they’d see you later. This is the dude who brings all the liqor and makes calls to bring the girls here; all of that shit. Once the party is over with, you have cigarette buts on your floor, drinks spilled and cups everywhere. Everyone went out the door and only your true ones stay to help you clean up. That’s how it goes. You also gotta’ treat your friends and party guests right. If you don’t, shit don’t go right.

 

Raptalk.Net: And Ronin Ro wrote an interesting book about Death Row. Have you read it?

 

Chocolate: Yeah, you’re talking about “Have Gun Will Travel?”

 

Raptalk.Net: Exactly.

 

Chocolate: Yeah, I’m in that book.

 

Raptalk.Net: That’s why I’m bringing it up. What I want to ask you is that, in your opinion was it well written and accurate? Do you feel it provided good insight for the fans?

 

Chocolate: I mean a lot of those situations I wasn’t around for so I couldn’t really say. A lot of those situations I was around though as well, and from what I’ve read, a lot of it was accurate and a lot of it was over-exaggerated. That’s the best way I could put it.

 

Raptalk.Net: You were always around and when Dr. Dre wanted to break away from Death Row and start his own thing with Aftermath, did you like the idea of that at the time?

 

Chocolate: I mean the only reason why I would say yeah was because me and Dre would always watch the fights together and hang out at the fight parties. It was never the music side on the time we would spend. Right now is the first time I’ve ever worked with or for Dre, out of all of these years. Yeah, when I branched off and did what I did as far as me producing for these other artists and being a producer and strictly sticking to my music, I got away from the whole scene of it, period. I was doing my own thing getting artists, making records, getting record deals and making money. I got a house and wasn’t trying to be the cat that got that first money and the next thing you know, I’m sitting on the streets trying to go hustle. I wanted to get out there and continue grinding and making my name to get a little something. I don’t know. Every man has to stand on his own feet. That was his [Dre] decision and I was there when he did the “Been There, Done That”, the first album. Shit, I was there listening to it and was proud of him. He left something that was big to go make something big. You can’t be mad at a man that wants to go create his own and stand on his own. I would say yeah, not that I was happy but I thought it was a good and smart move for him.

 

Raptalk.Net: Tell us about your nephew Slim Tha Mobster.

 

Chocolate: Beyond gifted. He’s humble, very humble. He’s also gangsta, no way around that. But he’s a humble cat and doesn’t start any shit. He’s definitely probably one of the best MC’s that you will hear in a very long time from these probably past ten years as far as new artists. He’s something to deal with.

 

DJ Silk: I’ve known Slim since he was about 13 years old. Everything I went through at a young age, he has seen. He was there hands on. He was good then. His path is pretty much the same as mine other than me being a producer and him being a rapper. He got to learn from the best and he has seen the best. He is groomed. He’s a born super star for real. I’ve worked with a lot of cats from Method Man, Redman, WC, Jayo Felony, E-40 and everybody else. I knew them when they grew up but I don’t know if they grew up like Slim. Slim is one of a kind. He’s kind of like the 20th century version of Jay-Z again, the re-birth. Jay-Z said “make another Hov?” Yeah, we made another Hov.  This dude raps from the brain and doesn’t free style. He doesn’t free style. He writes in his head. To see the stuff he comes up with is amazing. It’s been a long time since we sat down with him when we did music, and we approved or did not approve some of the things he was doing.

 

After a while, he just took it. We’re right behind him. We’re behind him. He’s the leader. He’s the Kobe Bryant right now. He‘s the cat that knows exactly what he’s doing and he was trained for it. He’s like [Floyd] Mayweather when he was little. He’s really that dude, from any coast. You have to love and respect him because of what he’s able to actually do. His swag is totally different from any other artist out there. I say it like that. His swagger is totally different. His word play is ridiculous. And it’s not like a Rakim word play like we had back in the days; he’s saying something. A lot of these guys don’t say anything too much and I won’t mention any names. They don’t really say anything; they just do a lot of flossing. Slim is not a gangster rapper even though he’s a gangster. He just speaks real. He doesn’t only talk about shooting people and selling dope. He has topics and he knows how to bring up your kids, he knows what to say to women and so on. He does those songs that will get the streets to like him and the women. There are not that many rappers out there like that.

 

Raptalk.Net: How have yourself, Dr. Dre and The D.O.C. groomed him?

 

Chocolate: He’s been around the game…

 

Raptalk.Net: He grew up around it.

 

Chocolate: That’s it. The only thing he actually really knows is nothing but music. He’s so groomed at this. Slim doesn’t write; he doesn’t pick up paper and pen.

 

Raptalk.Net: He goes in the booth and writes the songs in his head?

 

Chocolate: Right there, he writes his songs while standing over the board. He’ll stand over the board or find a corner and get in his little mood and he’ll write. He’ll go right to the booth and do a song. That’s how he gets down. He’s probably…it’s hard to explain, you’d have to see this cat work. I give him the top MC right now and ain’t nobody fucking with Slim Tha Mobster right now. That’s just point period.

 

Raptalk.Net: Is it true that he recently finalized some paperwork that has him signed to G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope?

 

Chocolate: Paperwork has been done. It’s 100%, he’s signed. I’m not gonna’ speak on the deal though. I just rather not comment on the deal. It’s something for him to speak on and your gonna’ do an interview with him. I’m gonna’ hook that up and I’ll get that taken care of for you.

 

Raptalk.Net: Hell yeah. This is the big question right here. Do you think “Detox” will set up Slim just as “The Chronic” set up Snoop Dogg and “2001” set up Eminem?

 

DJ Silk: I think so. I think that’s the best thing that could happen to him. He’s had other things going on before that. He’s a go hard in the paint type of person. It’s good because he’s running with the music to be able to express what he’s feeling. He’s writing hell of songs. He is what the game is missing and I’m glad that he’s with us.

 

Chocolate: Yes. I think that Slim is groomed. Snoop [Dogg] was ready but you know if you’re cooking something and it’s almost perfect but it might need a little more seasoning? That’s how Snoop was. Snoop just needed a little seasoning and it wasn’t a lot. I’m looking at the difference in-between how that was with Dre then and its how it is with Slim now. Slim is just ready. He’s groomed and polished. He doesn’t need any training. He doesn’t have to do songs with Dre standing over his shoulder. He’s gonna’ do 2-3 songs in one night. If he works for 12 hours here with us, he’s gonna’ have 3-4 songs done. His work ethic is beyond incredible; beyond (laughs). And I don’t say it because he’s my nephew. What’s funny about it is, when he was locked up in prison, I was telling him then that when he comes home, I’m gonna’ get him in the studio and we’re gonna’ work because he was already dope. If he just put his mind to this, it’s gonna’ happen for him and he put his mind to it. All the people I was telling that thought I was just saying it because he’s my blood, my family. But no, I‘m telling you because he’s good at what he does.

 

Actually, it’s not just him, I have another nephew who is XV; I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of XV out of Wichita, Kansas?

 

Raptalk.Net: I haven’t

 

Chocolate: He’s blowing up right now. He’s doing the Hip-Hop Honor awards and he’s doing the Warren G segment. He’s on the show doing the Hip-Hop Honor awards and he’s doing “Regulate” and a couple of other joints that Warren G had. You know there doing Hip-Hop Honor awards for Def Jam. My nephew XV, when you see him that is my other brother’s son. He’s going through a transition right now. The last I knew, his deal was looking pretty good. It’s just ironic that he’s super close to where Slim is it from my understanding. And I don’t mean that by being with Aftermath or anything like that, but he’s dealing with…the last I knew, Jimmy Iovine was super heavily looking into him. I’m not gonna’ quote that he’s signed there already but he’s doing Hip-Hop Honor awards so he must have done something right (laughs). That’s XV and then I have another nephew Mike Phenom, he’s about to take off and another nephew named Ses Batta.  All four of them are dope but Slim is the reigning king. All of them are dope but it’s just they haven’t been around and groomed like Slim (laughs). That’s all it is. They are all talented but they haven’t been groomed like Slim.

 

Raptalk.Net: And what’s your involvement in “Detox” right now and what do you believe is the status of that record?

 

DJ Silk: Of course I’m Slim’s DJ as well as one of his producers, Chocolate’s partner. Our involvement is to do what we can actually. So far, we have one solid track on “Detox” which is ridiculous. I’m blessed and proud to actually have the talent to make it on “Detox.” There are a lot of guys that did a lot of work and didn’t make it on “Detox.” It was good work but Dre is a perfectionist. If it’s not ultimately dope shit, it’s not gonna’ go there. Whoever is doing records right now, when “Detox” drops, get in research mode because this dude is doing musical movies. It’s beyond a song now. He’s the Steven Spielberg of music. I truly and honestly believe, and I know that now. Dre plays all kinds of instruments. He doesn’t even need our help; put it that way. I’m blessed to at least have a few joints on there.

 

Chocolate: It’ll be hard for me to say how many joints Dre got done. Me and DJ Silk, we’re working right now trying to come up with more joints for the “Detox” album. We have, we know we made the record. We have a joint on “Detox” that is a hot joint and Dre did his thing on it. I think that the status of it, I couldn’t tell you. The man is a perfectionist. I do know that it is coming out though (laughs).

 

Raptalk.Net: Where are you sonically taking the production on the one track that you know made it for sure?

 

DJ Silk: On that particular joint, I would tell you the title but there are a lot of funny things with leaks and hackers going on right now. It’s a good record, we know we have at least one solid joint on the “Detox” album. If I hear anything new from Dre confirming we have more records, will link up and do another interview or update. You guys will hear it soon. For me, Dre lets us do what we do best. I don’t know for sure, but Dre doesn’t like people trying to be like him. You have those producers who try to produce tracks of something he may possibly conjure up. They don’t even know what level he is on right now. Anything they can come up with is something they heard way back in the day. Dre loves us for what we do now; for what we’re groomed to do. He likes us to be ourselves. The whole record is live. It’s actually played. You won’t hear too many real samples on the record. That’s why I said he’s making musical movies. It’s like an orchestra playing. It’s like having Mozart in there with ?uestlove.

 

Raptalk.Net: Silk & Chocolate have a record on “Detox.” Chocolate, you read my D.O.C. interview “Detox & Surgery” and even left us a nice comment on the page. D.O.C. said in that interview that he thinks the album would have been done in November.

 

Chocolate: I mean, Dre has been working hard on this record. His mind is so genius. I’ve watched him work and I’m like wow, this dude will play anything you put in front of him. He doesn’t…how could I put it? Dre is like a real maestro. He leads you to the right notes and to the right placements and shit. When you hear certain shit and don’t know where to place it, Dre knows where to place it at. He’s just a perfectionist so you can’t really say where he’s at on his record and I couldn’t tell you. I know that we’re still working. He’s done us good. Since we’ve been working on this record, we’ve been out of town to get a change of environment and worked in other states and cities. He’s done us right just to get a different feel and vibe in order to make that music that you wouldn’t have thought about just by sitting in that same place all the time. You need a different view sometimes. Dre is probably, I couldn’t tell you how many songs he has done.

 

Raptalk.Net: We probably can’t even count that high.

 

Chocolate: He has so much hot shit. That’s why I say it’s crazy. You can’t place anything with what the man does. It has to be perfect. When they hear this mans record, the world is going to see why they waited so long for this record (laughs). That’s what I can truly tell you. When the world hears this record, they’re gonna’ be like ok, it was worth the fucking wait.

 

Raptalk.Net: When people talk about the “2001” team, people come up with the names Hittman, Scott Storch, Xzibit, Eminem, Knoc-turn’al, Mel-Man and people like that. If you had to name a few names in your mind that make up the “Detox” team, which names would you drop?

 

Chocolate: From me being around, I’ve seen a lot of them come in and do hot shit. But I don’t know what’s actually been cited to make the record. I don’t want to speak on names and they don’t make the record. I don’t know. A lot of records have leaked and Dre has put a real hold, he’s tightened down on everything. What he plays is what we hear. I’ve heard a lot of hot joints and seen a lot of different artists come in and do songs with him but I don’t know if they made the record. That is why I don’t want to say this joint with such and such. I’ve seen some big names come in.

 

Raptalk.Net: I respect that you can’t drop names so without dropping names, how do you think the “Detox” team or the people you’ve seen come in…

 

Chocolate: Heavy. They came in and did their thing very heavy. Dre is never gonna’ look away from his people. You know he’ll always keep Snoop [Dogg] somewhere in there. I know he has a joint with Snoop. He still keeps some of those around. Really with that, it’s hard to say. I don’t even know if that made the record. That is why I don’t want to be saying stuff. From what I’m looking at, the best way I could put it is everybody is still getting their chance to come and do what they’ve done before for him. He hasn’t turned his back on anyone. That’s the best way I could put it.

 

Raptalk.Net: What about “Relapse 2?” Have you done any work on that?

 

DJ Silk: We’re working right now to try and get a record on there. First things first is to actually making the record, and then will take care of everything else. Paperwork and all that isn’t hard to get done. We just want to create some music for Eminem that he loves and raps over it for the album. We know he would wreck one of our beats.

 

Raptalk.Net: Wow, there y’all have it – Chocolate & DJ Silk is on “Detox” & is working to get on “Relapse 2.” There are some rumors going around that Xzibit has been back in the camp really heavy and that Dre is doing his entire album. Have you gotten any word on that?

 

Chocolate: No. I know Xzibit came in and did a hook for Slim Tha Mobster. I don’t know the status of that though. I haven’t seen Xzibit in the studio. Actually, when we’re working with Slim, Dre is in another studio not far from us but we’re not in his sessions. We’re in a whole different studio doing our thing and Dre is doing his thing. We’ve always basically worked like that unless we’re in the same building with Dre. Most of the time we’re at a different building that is close. So I’m not in on all the sessions to see who has come in and out all the time. I come in on certain days and see certain people come in. it’s always short and brief and I’m back to doing what I’m doing at another studio working.

 

Raptalk.Net: Is it safe to say that Slim won’t drop until after “Detox?”

 

Chocolate: Slim has tons of songs (laughs). That’s kind of hard to say but I think it would be safe to say that it’ll be after “Detox.”

 

Raptalk.Net: It would make sense from a strategic standpoint.

 

Chocolate: He’s definitely the front man for the tour, the opening act. That’s the first act. I would say it’ll be safe to say he’ll be out after “Detox” and not before.

 

Raptalk.Net: Have you worked with Bishop Lamont and Stat Quo at all?

 

Chocolate: Never. I’ve known Bishop [Lamont] for years but we never got around to working together. I’ve been on Bishop since he was young, about 17 or 18 rapping at that time. I’ve known him for years, knew his brothers over there. I’ve never worked with him though.

 

Raptalk.Net: There are more rumors claiming that he was dropped. I know sometimes you’re not even in the same building, but have you seen him at all recently?

 

Chocolate: Nope. I haven’t seen him at all (laughs).

 

Raptalk.Net: What’s next up for The Genuine Drafts?

 

DJ Silk: Just hard work. We’re apart of Slim’s camp which is Gang Module/Aftermath. We could hold down the next 5 years. That’s all I hope for as long as I’ve been in the game. I’ve been in the game 17 years now and I hope we can control a couple of years with our music. We have to get it out there. I want to see Slim blow up because this is his first time. We hope we can hold on and get our music out there.  We hope everyone will like it and do what we do best. I hope people enjoy it.

 

Raptalk.Net: Y’all got the official word on www.raptalk.net on the status of “Detox” as well “Relapse 2”, plus we touched on a whole bunch of the old and classical material. We have Chocolate and DJ Silk, two legendary producers in the house, and we’re also talking Slim Tha Mobster because he is up next, not forgetting XV and the rest of Chocolate’s nephews because this is one talented family y’all. I appreciate your time Chocolate and DJ Silk. Do you have any last words for www.raptalk.net before I let you go?

 

Chocolate: I’m good man. I appreciate you. And keep up with the learning the history and keep asking the right shit just like you did. Know your shit, research because a lot of times people ask questions and don’t know what they’re talking about. I appreciate you. Hit me back soon so we can keep getting it in together.

 

DJ Silk: Shouts out to www.raptalk.net and everybody out there that is keeping it pushing. Do good music; that’s my thing. Every producer and artist out there that is doing music, listen to the older guys even though some of the older guys, a lot of the new rappers don’t respect because it’s a new world. That’s what being skilled comes from. There are no boxers that didn’t watch Muhammad Ali. And Dr. Dre is Muhammad Ali; Jermaine Dupri and the rest of the guys that has been here that long; there here for a reason. Those are the words I want to leave you guys with. Do your research and do your history. Know what you’re doing and do it well.

Links:
Read Full Interview here:
http://raptalk.net/website/content/view/2176/54/
Thread;
http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=241335.msg2434958#msg2434958

« Last Edit: January 07, 2010, 06:04:43 PM by Vader »
 

Chad Vader

  • Guest
Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #266 on: February 08, 2010, 06:01:37 AM »
The Lady Of Rage review The Source # 84 July 1997
 

Blasphemy

  • Guest
Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #267 on: February 08, 2010, 07:00:33 AM »


idk if its been posted before.
 

Chad Vader

  • Guest
Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #268 on: February 08, 2010, 07:45:49 AM »


idk if its been posted before.


tight +1
 

Blasphemy

  • Guest
Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #269 on: February 08, 2010, 02:48:13 PM »
Just some randoms I found via the net lol if they been posted, sorry I hadn't had enough time 2 go into this thread.












Honestly there is a ton of old school N.W.A shit if u really look 4 it. I found old Dr. Dre mixtapes (all as 1 file though) though I deleted them cause there wasn't any N.W.A shit on the ones I dled. but there is a ton of old shit if u look hard enough.